The light through the dark
by Mystic-bubbles
Summary: There was hope in her. Granger had been in her cell for almost a year and she was coherent, the reports had shown it, she wrote on the walls, fragments from books he recognised like, Hogwarts a history or second year charm books. As if trying to keep herself sane, like there was a light in her that refused to be extinguished.


The wizards and witches of the Wizengamot looked bored, frankly they would rather be out drinking fire whiskey or fraternizing with the muggles of London rather than sit at this council any longer. They had been here for hours, with little breaks. But they were bored.

"This is the last one of the day. Amelia Bones called out to her peers.

As she said this the prisoner was brought in a made to sit. No one looked up from their notes some even made themselves comfortable so that they could go back to sleep.

"State your name and blood-status." Fudge called out to the woman that had been brought in. He was leading the manhunt today.

"Hermione Jean Granger, muggle-born."

At this the people sitting in the benches above her, shook themselves out of their sleepy states. They stared at her, some of them in astonishment others in plain nosiness. Hermione stared as many as she could down. As Fudge cleared his throat, Hermione snapped back to attention.

"You, mudblood, stand accused of nine counts of treason against the new wizarding order. These counts stand at: leading the Order of the Phoenix rebellion after the death of Albus Dumbledore, creating and taking part in Dumbledore's army, taking part in the battle of the seven potters. The battle of the department of mysteries, battle of the astronomy tower of Hogwarts and finally the battle of Hogwarts, and taking over leadership of this battle after the death of Harry Potter. You are accused of being the intelligence behind most if not all of the battles that lead up to the second wizarding war, also you have contributed to the deaths of many wizards and Death Eaters. You stand accused mudblood, of rebellion against the new law." How do you plea."

"…" Hermione was silent staring straight ahead, watching Fudge intensely make no mistake her stare clearly said, 'I will kill you for this.'

The stare was acid and was making Fudge, coward that he was increasingly nervous. "We don't have all day! How do you plea, mudblood!" He screamed at her, if he had been any loser he would have spat in her face. Hermione thought.

"Guilty." She said loudly, wanting everyone to hear her.

The people in the stands started to consider the case and her plea this gave Hermione time to look at herself in the small glass at the end of the room. She looked like hell. Her hair was dirty and knotted, it was all over her the place, her eyes were swollen and she hard dark circles under them, she was dirty, they had picked her up in the forest of Dean, she had tried to make it back to headquarters after the Death Eaters had burnt down Grimmuald place. But she had stopped too soon, it was over. She looked mad. Dear Merlin, she looked like Bellatrix.

Fudge hissed. Causing Hermione to have to look up at him again. "For your crimes, this court sentences' you to life in Azkaban, with the probability of the dementors kiss.

Two cloaked Death Eaters started to drag her away, as Fudge started to laugh. He stopped suddenly however when he saw the look on Hermione's face.

"You will burn in hell for the choices you have made Fudge! Even if I have to drag you there myself!" Hermione called out as she was pulled out of the hall. She didn't even try and resist.

Eleven months later, Draco Malfoy was walking passed the cells in Azkaban, in search of one Hermione Granger. It had taken him almost a year to get all the documentation right and looked over for her release it was not easy, not even for someone in his position as the head of the magical law enforcement department in the ministry. However he had managed to get what he wanted. As a Malfoy always does.

Only a few people were privileged enough to know what Draco had been up to this last year and none of them understood why he would want to get mudblood Granger out of prison. It made no sense to anyone but him and in his opinion it didn't have to.

He reached her cell finally and saw her slumped against the wall, legs drawn up to her chest, she was leaning her head against the wall so that her frizzy hair covered her face completely.

"Get up, mudblood." She ignored him and he sighed and looked around the room. There was hope in her, he knew, he saw it. Azkaban had tripled in dementors since the Dark Lord had taken over, Granger had been in her cell for almost a year and she was coherent, the reports had shown it, she wrote on the walls, fragments from books he recognised like, Hogwarts a history or second year charm books. As if trying to keep herself sane, like there was a light in her soul and it refused to be extinguished by this or any situation.

Hermione looked up from, her position on the dirty floor, she moved her head to follow his voice, but let her face continue blocked from view by her unruly hair. She was chained on one leg, he knew she had once been chained by both arms to the floor but he had heard she had broken both her own wrists multiple times, so as to get rid of them.

"I said, get up, mudblood."

She could see him, through her hair, she watched him. The part of her brain that was not fogged and unsteady saw that he looked so out of place, so clean and steady like something out of a novel, like he belonged in the sunlight rather than outside a cell in Azkaban, the irony of this thought was not lost to her.

As she was contemplating how out of place he looked, he sighed again and took a few steps closer to her. What happened next was completely on instinct, she was up from her positon in the corner in a flash she was in the middle of the small cell crouching in a cat like stance her hair now completely out of her face, she looked ready to attack him at a moment's notice and if he gave her an inch she would, he knew. No matter what the punishment.

At that moment dementors appeared out of nowhere, six of them Draco assumed that they heard Hermione pull at her chains, they probably thought she was trying to escape or that Draco was trying to beak in. Only Merlin knew, what these dammed creatures where thinking.

The dementors came closer, Draco could feel the happy thoughts draining and the room temperature fall, he could see his own breath, he reached for his wand and swore the guards took his wand before he was allowed to come in, just in case. He started to lose feeling in his hand, the cold was completely overwhelming. Suddenly from the corner of his eye he saw Hermione move out of her crouch, she was cold, he could tell. He watched her stand holding her head high she closed her eyes and moved forward, as far as the chain around her ankle would allow.

She was at his side before he could even register what she was doing her eyes still closed and breathing heavily. Silver mist started to appear from over her chest. It was small he would not have noticed if he hadn't been standing so close. The mist got bigger the colder the room got and suddenly he realized Hermione was using wandless magic to produce her patronus. He stared in complete awe as she suddenly smiled and stretched out her arms allowing her patronus space to grow, he couldn't make out what it was but he was positive that if he had seen it in any other moment, when she was at full strength it would have overpowered his senses and that thought alone had him amazed.

The dementors was gone, in that incredible blast of light, they were alone again and Hermione was back where she started in her corner, knees to her chest.

He walked towards her, taking off his jacket and wrapping it around her. He knelt down and unlocked the cuff around her ankle. "Hermione, let's go."

They apparatated and she was leaning on him, if she had had the right amount of energy she would have hated it. But just then all she felt was peace, the second she was away from the dementors she felt better, her mind less foggy but she was exhausted, mentally and physically drained.

In a second they were, somewhere it wasn't the Malfoy Manor that much she knew. She would remember the manor remembered the way it felt to be there.

"This is my house. We're on the outskirts of Hogsmeade. Now I'll show you to your room and let you settle then, you should sleep and then we will talk." Draco spoke with a kind of authority that Hermione couldn't fathom where he had gotten this new personality, the again winning a war may do that to a person. She followed him up two flights of stairs and to the back of the second floor. Her room had a yellow door that's all she could remember.

"There are clothes in the closets and draws. Nothing…muggle, you understand." He moved toward the door and held the handle. With one last look behind him he left her alone. As soon as he left, Hermione sat down in the middle of the room and for the first time in five years cried uncontrollably like there was no tomorrow or so she had once thought this morning.

She wasn't sure how long she had sat there, but eventually she found the strength to get to her feet, she walked to the door she had noticed and opened it, it was the bathroom and it was clean, it reminded her of the prefect's bathroom. She pulled on all the taps until steam and a fruity smell started to fill the large room. She peeled off the stripped jumpsuit and lowered herself into the hot water it was boiling but it was the first time in 5 months that she had felt hot water on her skin.

She took three baths that night by the time she felt clean enough to ease Azkaban from her skin she was raw red and she was sure she looked like a prune. She wrapped up in a towel and dried off, she noticed a plate of roast chicken on the table near her bed. She went through all the draws until she found underwear and a warm looking night gown, everything in the closets were elegant and very pureblood looking. But Hermione didn't have the energy to think all of this through, all she knew was that she was clean, there was decent food and a warm bed tonight. For the first time in a long time Hermione Granger didn't think about the consequences, she just relaxed.

Hermione climbed onto the bed and ate she was insatiable, she finished and drank from the goblet full of pumpkin juice, hell if she was being poisoned she may as well die full.

And she slept for a long long time.


End file.
